Kal Spriggs

Tag: writing

  • Writers Toolbag: What to Write

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    It’s commonly said: write what you love.  Yet at the same time, there’s still a strong push (not as strong as it once was, but still present), to write what is “marketable”. That kind of thing presents a bit of a conundrum.  Do you write to what you think the market is or do you…

  • Writer’s Toolbag: Writing a Series Part I: Planning

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    So you’ve got this great idea, right?   A book series that’s going to be the next Robert Jordan, George RR Martin, and Terry Brooks all rolled into one.  It’s going to span a dozen books, with an epic cast of characters and complex themes hidden throughout. Which is great until you consider that a…

  • Writer’s Toolbag: Finding Your Voice

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    One of the first bits of professional advice I found confusing was regarding my “voice”.   At the time, I figured I’d just write a story, how I wrote it was my voice… right? Well, sort of.  You see, a writer has a certain tone that they use when they write.  It’s a mix of…

  • 2016 Liberty Con in Review

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    Liberty Con is here and gone, so fast that I only now realized I forgot to take pictures.  I took notes, but I’ll apologize in advance if I leave out someone’s name or forget who said what, as I said, it was a busy weekend. The first day was a bit of a blur to…

  • Checking Boxes

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    I had to take a step away from my computer yesterday when I saw a question.   “WIP has trans character and autistic character. Adding POC because the world feels way white. Do writers people their books other ways?” My short answer… yes.  In fact, if you pause to consider the racial/ethnic/cultural/religious/sexual makeup of your…

  • Writing Toolbag: Names

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    There’s a power in names.  It’s oddly one of the hardest and one of the easiest decisions to make.  Oftentimes when I select a name for a character it’s not a simple decision. How you name your characters and what meaning those names have will set the tone of your story.  It establishes from the…

  • Writing Toolbag: Expectation Management

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    We’ve all been there, you’ve got all these grand ideas and images, you’re certain you have the best story, best thing ever.  You’re going to write it and awards, accolades and money are going to shower down from the heavens… And then as you sit there in front of the computer, you feel that your…

  • Writer’s Toolbag: Preparation

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    It has been said that preparation is the key to success.  I’ve found that’s true for writing as well.  Preparation, of course, can mean many different things.   Some writers like to come up with extremely detailed outlines while others merely want to have some vague idea of the setting and go from there. The…

  • Writing Tools: Philosophy

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    This will be a bit of an odd post.  I’m here to talk about how to use philosophy in your writing.  Now, I’m one of those odd types who values classical education (even if you had to do it yourself).  Knowledge of philosophy and humanity’s efforts to come to grips with fundamental problems is something…

  • Writer’s Toolbag: Opportunity Cost

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    Today I’m writing about the most difficult decision you’ll ever make as a writer.  No.  Not that decision, the other one.  No, the other one. Okay, really, I’m writing about the tough decisions and how to make those.  These decisions are out there constantly for us as authors, but I’m talking about the big ones…